


Pendragon at Sea

by DevonShea



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Drowning, M/M, Shipwrecks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2019-08-04
Packaged: 2020-07-31 10:41:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20113789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DevonShea/pseuds/DevonShea
Summary: Arthur takes a cruise while on vacation in Hawaii that turns disastrous.





	1. Drowning

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter of this fic has a character that drowns in front of Arthur. If this is something that triggers you, you should probably start with the second chapter.

As with most things that went wrong in Arthur’s life, he could pin the blame, at least partly, on his sister. It generally made life easier, especially since she did the exact same thing. Their childhood had been a steady litany of blame being passed around until their father just threw up his hands in disgust and walked away to let the two of them fight it out. Only their tutor had ever figured out that their fights mysteriously ended once any possibility of punishment had ceased. Geoffrey just bypassed their manipulation altogether and assigned them both ridiculously long essays on books he knew they hated.

At the moment, Arthur found himself wishing for one of those essays. It would be preferable to clinging to the gunwale of the boat he was on in a storm while listening to the drunken friend of the equally drunk captain give the passengers a quick and dirty lesson on surviving a shipwreck. Oh, but Geoffrey would be proud of how attentive he was for this particular lesson. It would prove wrong all the times he’d bemoaned that Arthur couldn’t pay attention to something other than sports or girls if his life depended on it.

Next to him, his date for this little three-hour cruise sat clinging to his arm. She was one of Morgana’s acquaintances (not even a real friend!), and the reason he could blame Morgana for this whole fiasco. At the moment, Arthur couldn’t even remember her name. He kept going over the pseudo-first mate’s instruction in his head, just in case the next-

A wave crashed into Arthur, the force of the water pushing him and his date (Erica! Yes, that was her name.) down to the deck. Erica’s arms tried to tighten around his as they slipped apart. He turned to reach for her, but saw her flow with the water toward the stern of the boat as the wave carried her straight to the little opening that led to the swim ladder. She was gone before he could grab her, her face stark white with terror, washed overboard as Arthur stared helplessly at the space she had just been.

He scrabbled across the deck to the opening, ignoring the pseudo-first mate and the other passengers. Arthur held on to the railing lining the gunwale while he strained to see her. He screamed her name, just hoping she’d still be close enough to hear and respond, knowing it was probably futile. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of the bright orange life vests they were all wearing. He grabbed the boat hook and crossed the deck to the other side carefully, holding onto the railing tightly when he saw another wave coming for them.

He reached over the gunwale but Erica wasn’t close enough for the hook to catch her vest. “Come on, Erica. Swim closer.” He watched, but she didn’t seem to be moving at all. The next wave pushed her over and Arthur saw her face in a flash of lightning. It was slack and her eyes were open. She was gone.

He collapsed into the seat nearest him. He’d never seen a person die before. A wave swamped over him, making him grab hold of the railing tighter. It drew his mind from Erica’s fate for a moment and he realized that she may not be the only one he saw drown before the captain got the boat safely into harbor. 


	2. Shipwrecked

Arthur woke up clinging to a floating piece of the boat’s hull. In one hand was the boat hook he had never let go of after trying to save Erica. He shook his head, trying to recall what happened. The last thing he clearly remembered was one last, enormous wave swamping the boat and flipping it. He and the passengers had been thrown into the water. Arthur vaguely recalled trying to stay afloat, but not much after that.

He looked around and saw more pieces of the boat in the water. He didn’t see any other orange vests, though, not even Erica’s. One of the pieces of the boat’s hull looked larger than this one. He wondered if it would take his weight. After all, the ocean was full of animals that might find him to be an enjoyable snack. “Might be a good idea to get my legs out of the water,” he said to himself.

Thanking his lucky stars that he was a sound swimmer, Arthur reached the other piece of debris and carefully hefted himself onto it. It was definitely big enough to support him. He laid out on it and tried to take stock of his situation.

He wasn’t in the water. He knew he’d heard the captain calling out a mayday during the storm they’d encountered. Speaking of the storm, it seemed to be over and the sun was shining overhead. “So, shade and fresh water until the Coast Guard gets here. That’s if they know where to look, of course.” 

He looked around at the debris field. It was pretty wide, but he saw a few things that might be useful, as long as his makeshift raft held up. He could do this. He was a Pendragon. Pendragons were survivors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin belongs to Shine and the BBC.


	3. Presumed Dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's get a little family time in there...

“I’m sorry. We’ve searched a wide radius from where their signal last came from but we haven’t found them.” The Coast Guard officer was solemn as he informed the families that the search for the boat was being called off. It had been two weeks and the odds of anyone still being alive at that point were so low as to be nearly impossible. “At this point we have to presume them all dead. I am sorry.”

Morgana buried her head in Uther’s chest. “It’s my fault. I asked him to go with Erica. If I hadn’t-”

“Shh. It’s not your fault. He could have said no.” Uther held his daughter tightly. “Arthur is- was- Well, he’s always good at saying no when he wants to.”

Morgana looked up, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You think he’s still alive.”

Uther smiled gently at Morgana. “I have to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin belongs to Sine and the BBC.


	4. Loss of Shelter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make Arthur's situation even more tenuous.

Each small storm that whipped up was a blessing and a curse. Arthur was happy because it meant he could replenish his store of drinking water, which was always lower than he wanted, even with the filtration kit that he’d found. But it meant the waves buffeted his makeshift raft and made him worry that it might capsize, sinking it.

He laid himself as flat as he could, holding tightly to the rope he’d used to secure the things he’d salvaged from the wreck. He’d been extremely lucky. What he thought had been a first aid kit was actually a survival kit with more things than he would have assumed the drunken captain would have been smart enough to pack. Multiple lengths of paracord had come in handy when it came time to deciding what could be left to float in the water so as not to add weight to his raft.

Another wave crashed over him and he sputtered and coughed. Arthur had never been one for prayers, but this was starting to make him wonder if he should start attending services when he got home. If he got home.

“No time to think like that, idiot. Father will have the entire United States Navy out looking for you, even if he has to have the prime minister call that moron of a president the Americans are stuck with.”

He clutched the edges of the hull and watched in horror as another wave formed, this one almost under him. It lifted his raft up and up. “Oh, God.”

Arthur scrabbled in his pocket for the folding knife he’d found in the survival kit. His raft turned over and was pushed down by the waves. He tried not to panic as he slashed the rope holding the survival kit to the hook that had been on this part of the hull, then watched the thing that had kept him alive for the last three weeks float down into the depths.

Now what?


	5. Attacked by a Creature

When the storm had blown itself out, Arthur looked around and saw that there was one last piece of debris left floating from the wreck. He started to swim toward it, towing his survival kit, the water jug he’d salvaged, and his boat hook behind him.

He was almost there when he felt the hit to his abdomen. The sharp shock made him pause and look back. There was a fin and it was coming back at him. Oh, god, he had made it three weeks and he was going to be eaten by a shark? Hell, no. He grabbed the boat hook and ducked under the water to fight off the shark. 

Wait a minute, when did sharks come with a human face?

He held up his hands, and watched as the shark-man paused in its charge. It settled in the water a bit, watching Arthur warily, tilting its head.

Arthur needed air, so he pointed up and let himself surface. He gulped in a few lungfuls and was about to go back under when the creature’s head breached the surface a hell of a lot closer than it had been just a few moments ago. Arthur held the boat hook tightly and tread water while he waited for it (him?) to speak.

When it just looked at him for a minute, Arthur spoke. “Hello, I’m Arthur.”

The creature still didn’t speak.

“Um, I’m trying to get over there, to that piece of hull. I need to get out of the water if I’m going to survive to be rescued.” He turned a bit to point to the hull and watched in horror as it sank out of sight.

The creature just watched as Arthur moaned. “Just fantastic. Now what do I do?”

“There’s a ship that way.”

“What?” Arthur turned to the creature. It had attacked him, now it was helping him?

“Whaling ship. They’re not supposed to come here. But they do. I thought you were one of them.” The merman, because that must be what he was, tilted his head again as he spoke in a strangely accented English. “I think there’s one of those little boats that harass them nearby.”

“I have a flare gun. Are they close enough to see it?” Arthur was getting tired treading water, but he could keep it up if it meant getting rescued.

“No. Swim closer.”

“I honestly don’t think I can swim much longer. Treading water is all I’m really up to right now.”

The merman frowned. “Humans are weak.”

Arthur glared. “You try being stuck on land for three weeks with minimal water, shelter, and food, fishboy.”

The merman grinned, flashing sharp teeth. “I like you. I’ll bring you closer.” He grabbed Arthur’s arm and waited until he had situated the boat hook and rope better before he started swimming.

It was faster than Arthur could have swum himself, even before he was dumped into the Pacific Ocean by a storm. The merman probably could have swum even faster, but he was keeping himself to a speed where Arthur could still grab a breath. After what must have been a good forty minutes, the merman stopped. “Now you’re close.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Arthur pulled the survival kit close. “I know you’ve done so much, but can you get the flare gun out? I can’t tread water and retrieve it.”

The merman nodded, pulling the bag to himself while Arthur let the reality of his situation sink in. He was going to be rescued. Hell, he had been rescued. By a merman. He laughed.

“What’s so funny, human?”

“Arthur. My name is Arthur Pendragon. What’s funny is that after three weeks at sea I was rescued by a merman who is about to call over either a whaling ship or what my father would call eco-terrorists to actually pluck me out of the water.”

The merman smiled as he lifted the flare gun out of the water and fired. “My name is Merlin.” He put the gun back in the bag and handed it to Arthur. “I’ll stick around until they get close. There are always sharks near a whaling ship.”

“Thank you, Merlin.” Arthur smiled. “I’d say that if you were ever in Camelot, to come look me up, but it’s in the middle of England. I owe you a debt, though. I just wish I could repay it.”

Merlin shrugged as he watched the horizon for one of the boats he knew was there. “Maybe one day, Arthur Pendragon.”

“I’ll be honest, Merlin, I’ve had enough of the ocean for one lifetime. I don’t ever intend to get on a boat again.”

A boat horn sounded close enough for Arthur to hear. He looked up and watched a cutter show up on the horizon. “I’ll be underwater until you get on the boat. I have no desire to be ‘rescued’.”

Arthur nodded, watching Merlin sink underwater. He almost wished he had more time with Merlin. When would he ever get a chance to talk to a merman again? He wanted to know all about him. But Arthur was tired and more than ready to be back on dry land.

The cutter took both forever and no time at all to reach him and he was pulled up by people who spent most of their time trying to save whales from being hunted. He looked out over the water as they started to move toward shore and gave a tiny wave to the head he saw poking out of the water before it ducked under again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I couldn't make Merlin all that bad, now, could I?


	6. Coming Home

The flight from Hawaii to Camelot took nearly a full day and three planes. It was two weeks after he’d been rescued from the ocean. The entire time he’d been in the hospital recovering from his exposure had been spent with his father and sister nearby. He was still exhausted. The doctors had already started him on some physical therapy to help rebuild the muscle he’d lost.

It was good to get home, though. As much as he wanted to go back to his flat just off-campus, he wanted his old bed in his old room even more. Uther had ‘suggested’ that Arthur move back into the manor until he was healthy enough to be on his own, and this time Arthur was willing to give into his father’s demands. Morgana would even be moving back until he was well. 

He sank into the soft mattress and decided he was never going to move again. In fact, he may have done just that if it hadn’t been for Morgana walking through the door he’d forgotten to close. “Are you trying to become one with the mattress?”

“Yep.” He waved an arm in her direction. “Just have the maid bring all my food here.”

“You’d get awfully stinky and you’d end up with that catheter again.”

Arthur shuddered. That was something he’d prefer to avoid again if at all possible. He rolled over, leaving enough room for her to lay down. She took the silent invitation, curling up next to him. The last two weeks, she had ended up hugging her younger brother more than they had in their childhood. Theirs had never been a demonstrative family, but this emergency had pulled them all closer together.

“Love you, Arthur.” “Love you, too, ‘Gana.” Uther found them cuddled together asleep half an hour later when he went to see if they were ready for supper. He smiled, tears stinging his eyes, and closed the door.


	7. Long-lost Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many years later...

The years had been kind to Arthur Pendragon. Certainly, age had brought wrinkles and laugh lines. His hair had a few greys if one looked closely enough, but his natural blond hairs hid them well enough.

The worst that could be said about Arthur was that he was utterly committed to his job. Despite his harrowing experience during his first year at university, or perhaps because of it, he had switched his career path from business to marine biology. The drastic change had, of course, sparked arguments in the Pendragon household, but Arthur had prevailed and embarked on a career that saw him on the ocean much more often than his family would have liked.

One of Arthur’s favorite things to do as one of the scientists at the institute he worked for was to conduct tours of the attached aquarium and rehab facility. There were always some animals rescued that would never be well enough to be released back into the wild, so they lived pampered lives in the aquarium. The children on the tours always asked the most wonderful questions and got such a kick out of the animals the institute had rescued

He was waiting for the next group to form up when he saw someone who looked vaguely familiar. The man was in profile, reading one of the signs on the tank that held some cichlids from Africa. Arthur watched as the fish swam faster than usual, behaving as if they were trying to escape a predator. The man smiled and turned away from them, meeting Arthur’s eyes as he did. His smile grew wider, and Arthur suddenly got the impression of-

pointy teeth - fins - tail

Merlin.


	8. Sunset Stroll

“English waters are so much colder.” Merlin sat on the beach and looked out over the waves.

Arthur laughed as he played with a twig that may have been part of a piece of firewood. “We’re a hell of a lot further north than Hawaii, Merlin.”

Merlin grinned at him, not bothering to hide his only slightly pointed teeth. It was fascinating how he changed when he took on his human form. It was just fascinating in general that merpeople even had a human form. ‘How else do you think we avoid capture? It’s much easier to say we’re victims of a shipwreck than it is to try to explain a tail away if someone sees us.’

“So, when do you have to go back?” Arthur dreaded the answer, so he carefully kept his gaze focused on the twig in his hands. The last few weeks had been amazing, once he’d gotten over the shock that Merlin had managed to find him. Had even wanted to find him. 

Merlin shrugged. “I have to be in the water at least once a month, or I get stuck like this. I told you that already.”

“I meant, for good.”

Merlin was silent for a minute. “Do you want me to leave?”

Arthur looked up and into Merlin’s blue eyes. “No. No, I don’t.”

“Then I won’t.” He stood up and reached for Arthur’s hand. “Come on, show me more of your world, human.”

Arthur took his hand and let himself be pulled up. He smiled as he let Merlin lead him down the beach toward Arthur’s car, the sunset casting odd colors on their skin. “Oh, just you wait, fishboy. We’re going to have so much fun.”

**Author's Note:**

> Merlin belongs to Shine and the BBC.


End file.
